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NEWSPAPER OF THE SAUSH, PEND cTOREILLE
AND KOOTENAI TRIBES OF THE FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION, WESTERN MONTANA
VOLUME 12 NUMBER 19
THE COLDEST MONTH
FEBRUARY 15, 1984
Tribal chairman talks about the Flathead Project
The Flathead Irrigation Project, established in the 1900s to help the Flathead Indians become farmers, has been the subject of a series of community meetings and a lot of media attention in recent months.
In answer to statements made at those meetings and duly reported by
local papers, the Tribal Council voted February 3 to make the following official response:
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have not applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to assume management and operation of the Flathead Irrigation Project and currently have no plans to do so, according to Tribal Council Chairman, Joseph Felsmaa
Following up on a Tribal Council Resolution to that effect adopted February 3, 1984, Felsman noted that the Tribes wished to counter statements made by the Joint Board of Control at recent water-user meetings.
He said Joint Board officials had stated that the Tribes had already "petitioned" the BIA to take over FIP. "This statement is completely untrue", Felsman said. "The Tribes have never applied to take over the Project and have no plans at present to do so." He added that the Tribes have researched the feasibility of taking over the Project but have decided against it
Felsman also disputed the Joint Board's characterization of Tribal motives. "The idea that the Tribes want to dry up non-Indian land, put water users in default, and buy back their land at cheap prices is completely ridiculous," he said. He pointed out that neither the federal govern-
ment nor the courts would allow this to happen. He added that even if this could happen, the Tribes would not do it.
Felsman stated that he felt these misstatements of fact were being used by the Joint Board as " scare tactics" to mobilize support for its own move to take over the Project He said the Tribes believe that the Joint Board does not represent all water users and their interests and does not have universal water-user support He said the Joint Board is using the Tribes as a "bogeyman" to try to unify water users.
The Tribes oppose a Joint Board takeover, according to Felsman, be cause they are not satisfied that the Joint Board is capable of managing such a large and complex organization. He cited a recent Missoulian story reporting the findings of a draft audit of the Project by the U.S. Inspector General's office. This draft audit identified several areas of mismanagement of FIP, some of which, said Felsman, are at least partially attributable to the Joint Board.
The Tribes also oppose a Joint Board takeover because of the threat it represents to Tribal property, resources, and rights. "Their only concern is getting water to their lands," Felsman stated, referring to the Joint
(Continues on page two)